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VFW and American Legion trying to attract younger members

By Karen Antonacci

Staff Writer

Posted:
11/04/2017 05:49:34 PM MDT

Updated:
11/04/2017 05:52:47 PM MDT

U.S. Navy veteran Mike Duran shakes hands with Tony Martinez while having a drink with his wife Chris Duran, at right, at the American Legion Post 32 on Friday in Longmont. (Jeremy Papasso / Staff Photographer)

Darren and Ali Mumma sat in the Longmont American Legion smoking lounge Friday night, drinking long-neck beers and talking about the future of veterans service organizations like the Legion.

In Longmont, the local Veterans of Foreign Wars post sold their building in September and the American Legion Post 32 is allowing the VFW to use the Legion building at 315 S. Bowen Street for meetings and events.

Nationally, veterans service organizations are struggling to attract the most recent generation of veterans returning from wars the United States has waged in Iraq and Afghanistan. As Vietnam and Korea veterans age, there is a question about the future of organizations like the American Legion and the VFW.

Darren Mumma, 35, served in the U.S. Army in Iraq and Afghanistan from 2003 to 2009, when he was honorably discharged and returned home to Longmont.

He said that when he returned to civilian life, he didn't think the American Legion was for him.

"You know, I was a young single man that wanted to go out and party and the VFW and the Legion, to my mind, they were all old people," Darren Mumma said.

He changed his mind when his now-wife Ali Mumma lured him into the Legion for a drink. She was not a member of either organization, but worked as a bartender at the old VFW building and occasionally helped out behind the bar at the Legion.

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The husband-wife team said that the Legion has many benefits for young veteran families, especially as they deal with war-related post-traumatic stress disorder.

"For me, it's anxiety and being in a crowded room with a bunch of people I don't know," Darren Mumma said. "When I come into a place like (the American Legion), I'm completely comfortable because I know the people in this bar or in this club have got my back ... It's been eight years since I've been out of a war zone and I still lower my back. I still watch when people come up to me and that's going to be with me for the rest of my life. I still get angry for no reason and the people here, they get that."

Ali Mumma said there's a similar support system among the military spouses, mostly wives, in the American Legion auxiliary.

"I can ask the other wives 'Hey, what have you been through? Did you ever encounter this or how would you approach this?'" she said. "Someone who has had 30 years with a guy with PTSD or anything else, they've got those little tricks. It's not just for the guys or people who have been to war. There is support for the wives and the families too."

The dearth of younger veterans joining veteran service organizations has an effect on their investments. For example, the VFW sold its 12,000 square-foot building in September because of the cost of maintenance and it was more space than was needed, post quartermaster Leon Bartholomay said in a phone interview.

"Over the years, our volunteer base went way down and some of the programs kind of died. Before we look for another (building), the first thing to do is get our programs up and running again like color guard and honor guard and veteran wellness, which we have started to do now," Bartholomay said.

Bartholomay said the VFW just recently began looking for a new building because volunteers have started to step forward.

"We want to make sure we have the younger veterans participating," he said.

Tom Daschofsky, post commander of Longmont's American Legion, said that it was natural for the Legion to allow the VFW to use the S. Bowen Street building for a time because many members of one organization are also in the other.

Daschofsky remembers when he came back from the Vietnam War, he was reticent in joining veterans service organizations because, like Darren Mumma, he didn't think they were for him. As he got older and his children grew up, he changed his mind and joined. He is now a member of both the VFW and a third-generation member of the American Legion.

"I like what we do at these places — we help a lot of veterans and it's a way I can continue to serve. I'm too old to go back into battle, but I can be there to support others," Daschofsky said. "I'd like for one day to restructure our post location so we could have a daycare or something for the younger families ... the idea of veterans getting involved in some ways is fading away, unfortunately."

But as far as the VFW and the American Legion moving in together permanently, Daschofsky said that he doesn't see that happening anytime soon.

"I've seen a lot of those dual posts like that," Daschofsky said in a phone interview. "We have different ideas and different platforms but the same goals — we want to serve veterans and their families. But I can't see (VFW and Legion sharing a space) happening in the near future. It may come to that point one day. But right now we are fiercely independent."

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